No Special Stability Pact for Germany

Germany could bring its national deficit under the limit of 3.0 percent of gross domestic product allowed by the EU's Stability and Growth Pact but chooses not to, the Europe's Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told the weekly Die Zeit newspaper. The nation's near 2.0 percent growth along with current economic conditions should be enough to bring down the debt he said. Although he said there would be no special rules set just for Germany, he argued that the pact's conditions should be more flexible in allowing for longer periods of economic stagnation, such as during the past three years, while rewarding governments that save during good times.